Our Passion For Fruit - Bananas

Bananas

Great tasting and healthy, bananas are one of the world's favourite fruits. But do you know how they get from farms thousands of kilometers away to arrive - perfectly ripe - in your local supermarket? Join us on a voyage of discovery

Did you know

Monkeys peel their bananas from the other end!

Did you know

You can polish your shoes with the inside of a banana skin (might smell a bit though ...)

Great tasting and healthy, most of us love bananas. So, does it matter how we get them? Of course it does! Just take a few moments to explore their incredible journey from farm to store and let’s see if we can surprise you.

The Banana Journey

Every choice we make in getting our bananas from the farm to you has potential consequences – for the communities who grow them, for the quality of the fruit and ultimately for the wider environment. We know you get that. It’s why we think everyone should care about where their bananas have come from.

You probably know that bananas are grown in sunny, tropical areas and most of ours come from Central and South America where they have been growing fabulous bananas for decades. The banana story – from growing the best bananas in a sustainable way, then harvesting, shipping and ripening them to meet the specific needs of the people who eat them and the retailers who sell them – is pretty amazing. So, strap yourself in and here goes…

How do bananas get to Europe?

In total comfort – we treat our bananas like a baby! We use ships with state of the art containers that keep the fruit in a form of hibernation at a constant temperature of 13.5°C; just cool enough to slow down the ripening process but not so cold that the bananas catch a chill. In this controlled atmosphere the bananas will remain in perfect condition. The journey takes about 14 days.

See how the bananas are grown
and prepared for transport

See how the bananas are
transported and ripened

To follow the journey in more detail, click here »

Our banana varieties

What colour is yours - yellow, green, red or ……. black?

Be honest. We bet some of you probably thought that all bananas were pretty much the same? Oh no they’re not! There are more than 500 (some say 800) different varieties of banana – in all sorts of shapes, sizes and even colours! At Fyffes we’re really into bananas, but even we think that’s amazing. Just imagine all the new tastes, flavours and textures that hundreds of different varieties offer? It’s simply mouth-wateringly incredible.

Here at Fyffes we’d love you to discover more of these great new taste experiences for yourselves. But, you need to be patient. Sadly we don’t have a ‘banana factory’ that makes them to order, we have to grow them. It can take years to build up a consistent supply that meets our standards. We need to work with our partner famers to make the changes on their farms and we wouldn’t do this lightly – its people’s livelihoods. But, our dream is to have as many banana varieties in your local stores as there are apples…..

Bananas can be broadly divided into 2 groups, the 'fruit' (or sweet) banana and the ‘vegetable’ banana.

Fruit Bananas

The most common banana is the Cavendish - the one we all know and love to eat fresh or in smoothies, yogurts and cakes. When yellow with green tips, it has a lovely, balanced sweetness and texture. When very ripe (and very sweet) the yellow skin will be dotted with brown spots – this is the natural sugars bursting out!

But there are many other varieties too.

Curious to see what other varieties look and taste like? Click here

Click here to find out more

Why are bananas good for us?

We know we’re biased, but we like to think of bananas as a super food. Bananas are natural, healthy, packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals, good for hydration (they’re 70% water), and they’re a great source of slow release energy to fuel you through the day. At around 90 kcals per 100g they are a perfect snack for those watching the calories and they even help your body produce serotonin - which can help you feel happy, calm and relaxed. So, there’s a banana for every occasion!

Did you know?

Bananas grow on trees, right?

In fact, the banana plant or Musa Sapientum ("fruit of the wise men") is the largest plant in the world without a wooden trunk! It is a perennial herb in the same family as lillies, orchids and palms and the stem is actually made up of leaves wrapped around one another. There are more than 500 varieties, some growing to more than 9 meters high.

The variety we see most often in Europe is the Cavendish
The banana is curved because it bends itself around the banana above it as it grows upwards towards the sun.
The word banana comes from the Arabic word "Banan" which means finger
Bananas taste best when harvested green and allowed to ripen off the plant
Bananas are grown all year round and are harvested every day of the year
The banana flower is holy for some Indian people and it is often worn on the head as a lucky charm during religious ceremonies.

Bananas

Bananas

Did you know

Did you know

The Banana Journey

How to grow the best bananas?

How are bananas harvested?

How do bananas get to Europe?

How are bananas ripened?

See how the bananas are grownand prepared for transport

See how the bananas aretransported and ripened

To follow the journey in more detail, click here »

Our banana varieties

Fruit Bananas

Vegetable Bananas

Click here to find out more

Why are bananas good for us?

Did you know?

Did you know?

See how the bananas are grown
and prepared for transport

See how the bananas are
transported and ripened